Saturday, January 3, 2009

Recuperating at home

Should be at work right now, but here I am at home instead. I was attacked by the intestinal monster yesterday and he did a serious number on me. I had to leave work because of the increasingly intense pain I was experiencing. I forfeited my holiday pay with that decision, which is very disappointing, but I just could not graciously handle that level of pain at work. It took 12 more hours, countless hot showers, crying, and various remedies to fight off this pain monster. I think I will stay on a liquid diet for a week or so. The pain is now at a manageable level and so I don't want to take any chances. It was crazy, as this seemed to come out of nowhere. All kinds of stuff goes through one's head in these moments-food poisoning? nasty flu bug? complications from constipation? diverticulitis? celiac? I guess it's time to make that yearly trek to the doctor. If I can get in within a week or so, the memory of my excruciating ordeal will add intensity and seriousness to a request for a more extensive checkup.

I have only experienced this level of pain on three other occasions. The first time was in 1991 when I gave birth to my daughter. Then in 2004 I made a visit to the ER because of sharp adominal pains, thinking that my appendix was about to erupt. The docs did all kinds of tests on me, and basically concluded that I needed a colonoscopy to determine whether or not I had diverticulitis. As I experienced no additional pain or intestinal problems in the months following that ER visit, I chose to put off having a colonoscopy for another time. As a side note, I was under considerable financial stress at the time, and my conclusion was that my worrying had wreaked havoc on my GI tract. I am a strong believer that stress can significantly affect/alter one's physical health.

Since then I've experienced occasional discomfort/sharp pains in my stomach/intestines due to physical issues, and each time over-the-counter medicine has alleviated the problem. Essentially it comes down to aging and lack of fiber in my diet, as well as needing to drink more water, exercise more, etc.

So here I am writing this post and listening to/somewhat watching the Arizona Cardinal-Atlanta Falcon game, which is playing almost in my backyard. Well, sort of anyway, I mean I live only three miles from the University of Phoenix stadium where the game is taking place. I'm not a true Cardinal fan, and usually find myself making smart-aleck comments to guys at work that follow the games. [Go Phoenix Suns!!!!] But I thought I'd catch this game, as this is the first time for the Cardinals to make the playoffs since 1998 and first post season game since 1947. Not to mention there was speculation as to whether this game would be televised at all.
News was there were 3700 available tickets to the Card-Falcon game by Thursday afternoon. I guess in order for a game to receive network airtime, it has to be sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff time. The Cardinals were given two 24 hour extensions by the NFL to get those tickets sold. A Phoenix company, Leslie's Pool Supplies reportedly pitched in to help and swooped up a large numbers of tickets. Nice marketing move for Leslie's, as it's likely that most Cardinal players own pools, not to mention a majority of their fans here in the Valley of the Sun. Ha! (The above pic is from the Cardinal's website and I thought it was cool. Here's the link-http://azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=2803)

Football fever kinda runs in my immediate family. Three of my four brothers played high school football. I lived in Nebraska from 1978 to 1983 and was a die hard Husker fan. My brothers and their families are Husker (Nebraska Cornhuskers) fans. It runs in the blood of many who reside or have resided in Nebraska. Coincidentially my daughter is currently dating and "in love" with a football player. Her "birthfather" was a football fanatic...and on and on it goes.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-4) won their 2008 bowl game against the Clemson Tigers (7-4). I did not see the game, but from what I read kicker Alex Henery (#90) carried the game with four field goals. The final score was 26 - 21. A link to info about the game off the Husker site is:
After reading about the outcome of the Gator Bowl, and doing a search on Alex Henery, I found an amazing fact about this young man. He kicked a 57 yard field goal offering up the winning points against the Colorado Buffalos on November 29, 2008. Final score: Huskers 40- Buffalos 31. Of course, none of this is news to hardcore Husker fans, but here's a link to video coverage of Henery's field goal. Definitely memorable.
Final score: Arizona Cardinals 30 - Atlanta Falcons 24
Kudos to the players and their fans!!!!
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